Semiconductor laser diodes are usually required to be driven in a constant optical power mode in order to maintain wavelength stability, wavelength purity, and stability in their optical power for the corresponding application. Conventional laser drives monitor either an internal or an external photodiode and include a closed-loop circuit that is used to adjust the drive to the laser in order to maintain the optical power. These systems generally work well in a continuous drive mode (e.g., DC). However, when the power has to be modulated, the conventional method implements pulse-width modulation of the drive. The circuitry used to perform PWM typically has high bandwidth requirements due to the frequency content of the pulses.